In 1858, Deerfield, Massachusetts, was charged with having no free school for secondary education, despite an 1827 state law that required that any town with more than 500 residents have one. The town had only Deerfield Academy, a private school that charged a tuition. Since the town couldn’t support a free high school as well, academy trustees met with residents and town leaders to form a free high school component of the academy. Trustees provided a building and library, and the town provided fuel. The town and trustees split the cost of teachers’ salaries. Students living in Deerfield attended the high school free of charge. This arrangement continued uneasily until 1875, when a bequest was left to the town for the construction of a free high school and town library. The academy then decided to form the “Dickinson High School and Deerfield Academy” and it opened in 1879. In 1923, Deerfield Academy once again became a private school and in 1924, the new, free Deerfield High School opened in South Deerfield. The Dickinson High School building was taken down in 1930, to make way for the Academy’s main school building. Deerfield High School eventually became a regional school, founded in 1969, as the “Frontier Regional School.”
Turners Falls Reporter. “South Deerfield – High School Building Dedicated With Excellent Program.” 1924. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-075/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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